ANTH 1000 PEOPLES AND CULTURES OF THE WORLD Samantha Archer M A she her hers University of Connecticut Summer 2022 samantha archer uconn edu OAK 108 Office hours By appointment in person in BCH 440 or via Zoom 1 30 5 00 PM MW COURSE DESCRIPTION Anthropology is a social science that studies analyzes and aims to understand human behavior in its many forms both past and present This course serves as an introduction to the study of living humans whose behaviors and actions can be observed in real time also known as sociocultural anthropology This anthropological subfield asks us to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange In this course we will study the basic theoretical concepts of sociocultural anthropology that aid us in gaining an understanding of not only the cultures rituals languages beliefs and behaviors of humans we regard as vastly different from ourselves but also an understanding of why we do the things we do and why we do them the way we do them This course is designed for first and second year students and will have an emphasis on critical thinking and close reading skills that can be applied to any and all courses in higher education LEARNING OBJECTIVES everyday life disciplines 1 You will learn to think like an anthropologist and learn how to apply anthropological thought to your 2 You will learn basic theoretical concepts and paradigms used in sociocultural anthropology and related 3 You will learn how to identify the primary differences between social scientific research and journalistic articles and how to elucidate the hypotheses and main arguments in a piece of social scientific scholarship MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH Your mental and physical health are more important than any class Allow me to repeat your mental and physical health are more important than any class We have all lived through varying degrees of difficulties as a result of the pandemic and I cannot overemphasize how critical it is that you prioritize rest spending time doing what brings you joy making that doctor s appointment drinking lots of water and taking advantage of the resources you already pay for at least partially at UConn UConn SHaW Student Health and Wellness offers both individual therapy sessions as well as organized group therapy There are also a variety of independent mental health practitioners in the Storrs Mansfield area if you are interested in more long term mental healthcare Additionally since the pandemic many mental health practitioners from across the country are providing telehealth regardless of your physical location If you don t have health insurance utilizing the resources at UConn is probably the most financially accessible option Storrs Mansfield is surrounded by woods and nature trails and if you are feeling restless or feel like you need to take a moment to yourself I highly recommend taking advantage of a walk in the UConn forest Horsebarn Hill or even just around campus Syllabus last edited on July 9th 2022 REQUIRED TEXTS AND COURSE MATERIALS There are no texts you must purchase for this course All assigned readings will be found uploaded on HuskyCT The assigned reading for this course will in large part come from an open source textbook details below and peer reviewed scholarly articles from major anthropological journals A few assigned readings will come from journalistic publications blogs and there may be other forms of media assigned such as clips on YouTube or podcasts I have uploaded to HuskyCT a peer reviewed open access cultural anthropology textbook Perspectives an Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology 2nd ed which was written and spearheaded by scholars from the American Anthropological Association This will serve as your primary textbook for this course Please let me know ASAP if you cannot access it CLASS STRUCTURE AND MASKS We will begin every class session in OAK 108 We may or may not depending on the weather transition outdoors for the latter half of our class sessions after a break We will discuss this in more detail on the first day of class I recommend investing in a picnic blanket or something that will make sitting outdoors more comfortable for you As of writing this per UConn s policies masks are not required in outdoor settings and are recommended but not required indoors COMMUNITY GUIDELINES We learn in community with one another We will discuss topics in this course that are intensely relevant to each and every one of our lives and I ask that we all approach these discussions with humility respect for one another as peers and colleagues and exercise active listening to one another as members of our class community A core feature of this course is to help develop your critical thinking skills which means that disagreement and constructive criticism are not only welcomed but encouraged There is a large chasm between words with vitriolic and malicious intent and critical inquisitive and constructive thought We will discuss the difference throughout the semester ATTENDANCE POLICY Participation in this course is worth 30 of your grade This is a fast paced course that meets only 10 times throughout the semester and participation is absolutely essential If this were a course spread out over a typical 15 week semester my attendance policy would be more relaxed but as that is not the case my policy is that you need to be present every time we meet barring illness or emergencies The best thing you can do for your grade in this course is to communicate with me as soon as you believe you might not be able to make it to class on any given day As our class meets for three and a half hours each session we 1 will take breaks and 2 I will not count full attendance unless you are present for the entire class session 2 COMMUNICATION I will respond to all student emails sent to samantha archer uconn edu within 48 hours on weekdays Feel free to email me on a Friday but please understand that I may not get back to you until Monday morning In turn I do expect you to be actively checking the email you have registered with UConn to receive important notifications and announcements You may address me as Sam or if that feels too informal Professor Archer Please do not address me as Ms Archer or Dr Archer as the latter is akin to saying the word Macbeth in a theatre My office is on the 4th floor of Beach Hall in room 440 My office hours are by appointment If you cannot meet in person I will happily set up a Zoom meeting with you at a time that works